Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Stock Price Down 1.7% - Should You Sell?

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) dropped 1.7% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $43.80 and last traded at $43.93. Approximately 12,141,525 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 69% from the average daily volume of 39,596,390 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.69.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BAC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Bank of America from $55.00 to $52.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Cowen began coverage on Bank of America in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Bank of America from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Bank of America from $49.50 to $43.50 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of Bank of America from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of America currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.50.

Bank of America Stock Down 2.9%

The stock's fifty day moving average price is $40.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.59. The stock has a market cap of $326.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.10. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 14.10%. The firm had revenue of $27.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $26.83 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Bank of America Co. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. Bank of America's payout ratio is presently 30.95%.

Institutional Trading of Bank of America

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Bank of America by 108.8% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 3,240,132 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $135,196,000 after acquiring an additional 1,688,523 shares in the last quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America during the first quarter valued at approximately $384,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 6.3% during the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 50,293 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,099,000 after purchasing an additional 2,969 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 22.7% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 243,516 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,162,000 after purchasing an additional 45,004 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Flaharty Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 15.3% during the first quarter. Flaharty Asset Management LLC now owns 10,276 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $429,000 after purchasing an additional 1,363 shares during the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bank of America Company Profile

Bank of America Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides banking and financial products and services for individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses, institutional investors, large corporations, and governments worldwide. It operates in four segments: Consumer Banking, Global Wealth & Investment Management (GWIM), Global Banking, and Global Markets.

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